Talented Ontario Sired and Ontario Bred pacers and trotters delivered impressive performances both within the province and beyond its borders in 2017.
Three-year-old trotting filly On A Sunny Day and two-year-old pacing filly Percy Bluechip set all-time Ontario Sires Stakes speed marks and current and former Ontario Sires Stakes competitors captured over 20 open stake titles.
For the second year the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association will honour the leading money winners in the eight Ontario Sires Stakes divisions, the provincial program’s leading driver and trainer, and the SBOA Stakes champions with donations to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society and the Standardbred Racetrack Chaplaincy of Canada.
Also being honoured with donations are the winners of the SBOA’s designated awards. The Masterfeeds Awards are presented to a pair of outstanding broodmares, one pacer and one trotter, while the Chris Van Bussel Memorial Award and Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award recognise people who have demonstrated ongoing leadership and service to Ontario’s harness racing industry.
Congratulations to all of the 2017 award winners!
Two-year-old pacing filly OSS division champion and O’Brien Award winner
Shadow Play – Advantest – Artsplace
2017 OSS record: 5 4-0-0, $264,684, 1:51.2f
2017 overall record: 9 5-1-0, $440,795, 1:51.2f
Breeder: Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc., Wallkill, NY
Owners: Shadow Two Stable, Puslinch; James & Wilma MacKenzie, Ennismore, ON; Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc., Hudson, QC
Trainer: Dr. Ian Moore • Driver: Trevor Henry
Two-year-old pacing gelding OSS division champion
Sportswriter – Ever Western – Western Hanover
2017 OSS record: 5 2-2-0, $193,700, 1:51.3s
2017 overall record: 10 2-3-1, $206,980, 1:51.3s
Breeder: Winbak Farm, Chesapeake City, Maryland
Owners: West Wins Stable, Cambridge; John & McKinlay Fielding, Toronto; Calhoun Racing Ltd., Chatham, ON
Trainer: Casie Coleman • Drivers: Travis Cullen, Yannick Gingras, and Doug McNair
Two-year-old trotting filly OSS division champion and O’Brien Award winner
Kadabra – Queen Street – Duke Of York
2017 OSS record: 6 5-0-0, $320,800, 1:55.1s
2017 overall record: 10 5-1-3, $328,380, 1:55.1s
Breeder: Harness Horsepower Inc., Campbellville, ON
Owners: Harness Horsepower Inc., Campbellville & Frank Monte, Markham, ON
Trainer: Chad Milner • Driver: Scott Coulter
Two-year-old trotting gelding OSS division champion
Kadabra – Allmar Victory – Angus Hall
2017 OSS record: 3 2-0-0, $160,300, 1:56.4ss
2017 overall record: 6 2-2-1, $168, 980, 1:56.4s
Breeders: Diane Ingham & Harry Rutherford, Mount Pleasant, ON
Owners: Doug Millard, Woodstock; Ben Mudry, Toronto, ON; Tim Murray, Shawville, QC; Howard Taylor, Philadelphia, PA
Trainer: Brad Maxwell • Driver: Randy Waples
Three-year-old pacing filly OSS division champion and O’Brien Award finalist
Camluck – Oh The Joy – American Ideal
2017 OSS record: 6 3-1-0, $240,150, 1:50.3s
2017 overall record: 22 14-4-0, $333,807, 1:50.3s
Breeders: Beechwood Acres, Burlington & Mark Horner, St. Marys, ON
Owners: R A W Equine Inc., Burlington; Mark Horner, St. Marys; and Gregg McNair, Guelph, ON
Trainers: Gregg McNair & Mark Horner • Drivers: Doug McNair & Mike Horner
Three-year-old pacing gelding OSS division champion
Mach Three – Flying Color – Real Artist
2017 OSS record: 5 1-2-0, $158,500, 1:51.2s
2017 overall record: 10 3-2-2, $182,890, 1:50.2s
Breeder: 1443059 Ontario Inc., Oldcastle, ON
Owner: Bayama Farms Inc., Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil, QC
Trainer: Stephane Larocque • Driver: Sylvain Filion
Three-year-old trotting filly OSS division champion
Muscle Mass – Dicent No – Promising Catch
2017 OSS record: 6 4-1-0, $300,280, 1:53.3
2017 overall record: 14 6-2-1, $365,936, 1:53.3s
Breeder: Luc Blais, Lochaber Ouest, QC
Owner: Determination, Montreal, QC
Trainer: Luc Blais • Driver: Sylvain Filion
Three-year-old trotting gelding OSS division champion and O’Brien Award finalist
Kadabra – World Class Image – Balanced Image
2017 OSS record: 6 3-2-0, $229,287, 1:53.2s
2017 overall record: 12 7-4-0, $307,246, 1:53.1s
Owner/Breeder: Thomas & Elizabeth Rankin, St. Catharines, ON
Trainer: Ben Baillargeon • Drivers: Mario Baillargeon & Sylvain Filion
SBOA Stake pacing filly champion
Shadow Play – Breathe – Northern Luck
14 3-3-1, $148,885, 1:51.3
Breeders: Stephen Dey, Allentown, NJ
Owners: West Wins Stable, Cambridge & Calhoun Racing Ltd., Chatham, ON
Trainer: Casie Coleman • Driver: Travis Cullen
SBOA Stake trotting filly champion
Kadabra – In The Mean Time – Muscles Yankee
12 5-4-2, $417,434, 1:52.1
Breeder: Herb Liverman, Miami Beach, FL
Owners: Melvin Hartman, Ottawa, ON; Herb Liverman, Miami Beach; David McDuffee, Delray Beach, FL; Little E LLC, New York, NY
Trainer: Richard Norman • Driver: Trevor Henry
Masterfeeds Outstanding Pacing Broodmare
Western Hanover – Strike A Balance – Artsplace
Breeders: Robert McIntosh Stables Inc., LaSalle; Paul Ysebaert, Mooretown, ON; C S X Stables, Liberty Center, OH
Owners: Seelster Farms Inc., Lucan, ON
Dam of 2017 Gold Leg winner Nascar Seelster (1:51.4s, $128,147, Mach Three) as well as Camluck sons Nitro Seelster (1:49.4f, $219,188) and Nirvana Seelster (1:48.0s, $840,834) and Bettors Delight gelding National Seelster (1:50.2s, $380,687).
Masterfeeds Outstanding Trotting Broodmare
(3, 1:55.2s, $300,756)
Balanced Image – Gramola – Supergill
Breeders: Glengate Farms, Campbellville, ON
Owners: Tom & Elizabeth Rankin
Dam of 2017 three-year-old trotting gelding OSS champion and O’Brien Award winner R First Class (1:53.1s), a winner of $307,246 lifetime, and R Raised Emotions (1:52.3s, $121,934) both by Kadabra. Also the dam of former OSS Grassroots winner World Class Izzy (1:56.2s, $50,018) by Muscle Mass.
Sylvain Filion
Lampman Cup winner
2017 OSS statistics: 146 30-24-15-16-18, $1,645,359, 368 Lampman Cup points (fifth Lampman Cup title).
Leading drives: Tymal Peacemaker, On A Sunny Day, R First Class, Wildriverbumblebee, Yaris Bayama, Capteur De Reve, Soiree Seelster
Mark Steacy
Johnston Cup winner
2017 OSS statistics: 88 17-12-13-18-6, $508,276; 218 Johnston Cup points (second Johnston Cup title).
Stable stars: Delcrest Magicstar, Dream Massive, Hudson Phil, Majestic Kat
Rolling Acres Farms
Chris Van Bussel Memorial Award winner
The Chris Van Bussel Memorial Award was established in memory of the Seelster Farms founder to recognize persons of integrity who have been of service to both the SBOA and the greater harness racing industry, and in 2017 the SBOA is proud to present the award to the Klemencic family’s Rolling Acres Farm.
The Klemencic family has bred and owned some outstanding horses over the course of their long-time participation in harness racing, but 2017 saw the Trenton, ON residents reach a whole new level of success. There were 18 Klemencic-bred horses competing across North America last season, but none of them provided the family with more thrills than three-year-old trotting colt What The Hill. The son of Muscle Hill out of Stan Klemencic’s Angus Hall mare K T Cha Cha triumphed in the Breeders Crown, Canadian Trotting Classic and TVG Open on his way to earnings of $1 million and the 2017 Dan Patch Award for sophomore trotting colts. What The Hill’s standout season also earned Klemencic his first-ever nomination for the Armstrong Breeder of the Year O’Brien Award. What The Hill’s success followed on the heels of a stellar 2016 season that saw another trotting colt that they bred, two-year-old Mass Production, capture the OSS Super Final in a record time of 1:54.4. A Muscle Mass son out of the Angus Hall mare All Time Favorite, Mass Production captured the both the 2016 OSS divisional title and the freshman trotting colt O’Brien Award.
Greg Blanchard
Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award winner
Established in honour of one of the founding fathers of the OSS program, the Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award recognizes a member of the harness racing community for their ongoing meritorious service, and in 2017 the deserving recipient is Greg Blanchard.
The hard-working Blanchard spends his days serving as the Director of Racing at The Raceway at Western Fair District, but the Prince Edward Island native’s talents and contributions extend beyond the realm of raceway management. Throughout the summer Blanchard can be found filling in as an announcer at tracks across the province and is a regular part of the colour commentary team for events like Grand River Raceway’s Industry Day, and Flamboro Downs’ Confederation Cup. Prior to making the move to The Raceway in 2010, Blanchard spent a decade at WEG, working both on-air and in the Standardbred communications department, and he makes regular returns to Mohawk Park for the track’s signature stake events. The London, ON resident served as the long-time host of the SBOA Awards Banquet and he has co-hosted the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame induction gala since 2015. Blanchard is always willing to go the extra mile to promote harness racing and he has also been known to sport the occasional pink tutu or coat of purple paint in the name of fundraising.
(SBOA/Sandra Snyder)